• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > World

EU So Far Resettles Just 0.03% of 1 Million Refugees in Europe

  • A Syrian refugee holding a baby swims toward the shore after their dinghy deflated some 100 meters off the Greek island of Lesbos on Sept. 13, 2015.

    A Syrian refugee holding a baby swims toward the shore after their dinghy deflated some 100 meters off the Greek island of Lesbos on Sept. 13, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

Published 5 January 2016
Opinion

EU accepted only 272 refugees as part of a sharing plan of 160,000 refugees approved in September, while 19 EU nations did not take in any refugees.

The European Union has resettled just 272 people, or 0.17 percent, of the 160,000 refugees the bloc promised to distribute among themselves four months ago, according to EU official documents.

This means more than 98 percent of the refugees included in the EU’s plan remain in Greece and Italy, the points of arrival for most people fleeing violence, war and poverty in various Middle Eastern and African nations.

The figures also mean that only 0.03 percent of the more than 1 million sea arrivals to Europe in 2015 have been resettled in countries other than Greece and Italy, where thousands of people continue to arrive on a daily basis.

OPINION: The Making of the Migration Crisis

According to The Guardian, daily arrival rate to Greece is now 11 times higher than it was in January 2015.

According to the figures released Monday by the EU, 19 EU countries have not taken any asylum seekers from Greece or Italy. Meanwhile, those who have are largely the countries that have already taken in a significant number of refugees such as Sweden and Germany.

Also, under the same September EU agreement, the EU countries pledged to provide 775 border guards to Greece and Italy in order to help them cope with the influx.

GALLERY: The Human Face of Europe's Refugee Crisis

However, less than 450 guards have been provided, with Hungary, the most vocal opponent of taking in refugees and an advocate of border controls, sending only four guards.

On Tuesday, at least 30 people died off the Turkish coast as their boat capsized in the Aegean sea as it was heading to Greece.

The International Organization for Migration or IOM said last week that 3,771 migrants and refugees died crossing the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe in 2015, making the past year the deadliest on record.

WATCH: teleSUR’s Imaginary Lines – Roots of African Migrant Crisis

Tags

Europe Refugee & immigrant rights Greece Italy Equality & human rights Human rights

The Guardian
by teleSUR / mh-OA-mk
Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.